Assessment of PM2.5 Patterns in Malaysia Using the Clustering Method

Ezahtulsyahreen Ab Rahman,Firdaus Mohamad Hamzah,Mohd Talib Latif,Doreena Dominick

doi:10.4209/aaqr.210161

Abstract

Particulate matter is the parameter of most concern in air quality monitoring in Malaysia. This study discusses the variations and clustering of PM2.5 recorded from 2018 to 2019 at 65 stations of the Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Network of the Malaysian Department of Environment. PM2.5 concentrations were recorded continuously using a tapered element oscillating microbalance. The cluster analysis was conducted using the Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC) method. The results show that the daily average of PM2.5 concentrations ranged between 8 and 31 µg m–3. The cluster regions were classified into High Pollution Regions (HPR), Medium Pollution Regions (MPR) and Low Pollution Regions (LPR) based on the AHC analysis. The mean concentration of PM2.5 recorded in HPR was significantly higher with 23.04 µg m–3 followed by MPR and LPR. The results also showed that the highest concentration of PM2.5 was recorded during the 2019 haze episode for all three regions, with the air pollutant index indicating very unhealthy and dangerous levels.

Highlights

Air pollution has been found to kill more people worldwide than other diseases such as breast cancer, malaria or tuberculosis (WHO, 2014)
PM2.5 is of most concern as it is more harmful to human health than parameter below 10 μm (PM10)
Using Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC) analysis, 65 monitoring stations in Malaysia were classified into High Pollution Regions (HPR), Medium Pollution Regions (MPR) and Low Pollution Regions (LPR) with 19, 9 and 37 stations respectively based on the parameter PM2.5

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution has been found to kill more people worldwide than other diseases such as breast cancer, malaria or tuberculosis (WHO, 2014). As described in Beelen et al (2013), airborne particulate matter (PM) is especially detrimental to health and has previously been estimated to cause between three and seven million deaths every year, primarily by creating or worsening cardio-respiratory disease (Hoek et al, 2013). The two main categories of particulate are fine and coarse. Most studies focus on PM2.5 due to its effects on the environment such as visibility and climate, and its ability to pass through the lungs and affect human health (Franceschi et al, 2018). Rapid development and urbanization have affected air quality and have led to an interest in studying the causes and effects of PM2.5. Rapid development and urbanization have affected air quality and have led to an interest in studying the causes and effects of PM2.5. Sinkemani et al (2018) and Khalili et al (2018) indicated that PM2.5 derives from fuel burning, vehicular exhaust, and some industrial activities, while Khan

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